Author: Amy M Cools

Amy M. Cools is a historian, educator, researcher, and author. She is a Research Fellow in English and Creative Writing at Northumbria University, Newcastle, as a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow (2023-2026).

She specializes in the history of ideas, African American and United States history (especially antebellum), the study of civil rights movements, biographical explorations of extraordinary people, the history of philosophy, issues in ethics and law, and other topics in history, philosophy, and intellectual history.

Amy holds a PhD in History (2021) and an MA in Intellectual History with Distinction (2018) from the University of Edinburgh (2018); a BA in Philosophy: Ethics, Politics and Law, Summa Cum Laude from California State University at Sacramento (2013), and an AA in Humanities and Fine Arts from Riverside City College (1999). Her doctoral thesis, ‘The Life and Work of James McCune Smith (1813-1865),’ is the first completed book-length biographical study dedicated to this pioneering intellectual, scientist, and physician. Amy’s project as a BA Fellow at Northumbria is to compile and edit McCune Smith’s complete written works. She is also currently writing a biography of McCune Smith, under contract with the University of Georgia Press.

A native of California, USA, she currently makes her home near Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with her beloved husband and dog

Homemade Kimchi

 Yes, I’m still hooked on pickling things. This time, I’ve pickled cabbage, Korean-style.

I started with a brine, less salty than usual because I added lots of fish sauce, which is very, very salty. I also used oodles of pepper flakes, garlic cloves (cut in quarters), fresh ginger slices, a little simple syrup (dissolved sugar), and green onions. I didn’t measure, only eyeballed and tasted the brine as I adjusted it. I did count the squirts of fish sauce I put in: 25 each jar. Each squirt is the amount that come out with one shake of the bottle. This might be too much for some, but I love fish sauce.

The jars are filled only half full, of course, so there’s plenty of room for the cabbage.

I didn’t really follow a recipe, although I read several to get a sense of what’s usually done to make kimchi. I also depended on my memory of how other kimchis tasted and the ingredients I could see as well as the flavors I detected, especially in the style that’s sold very fresh and lightly fermented in a brine.

Before I prepared and spiced the brine, I cut up a head of nappa cabbage and thoroughly rinsed it, and let it soak in salty water for an hour, as several recipes suggested. (I’m not sure this step is necessary for this style of kimchi. I did it anyway since it also seemed a good way to make sure the cabbage was nice and clean.)

When the brine was all ready, I packed that cabbage in tightly, and it turned out I had exactly enough room for one head of cabbage in these two large jars.

Kimchi bubbles up quite a bit as it ferments, so I placed the jars in a casserole dish to catch the overflow. Also, make sure all the vegetables are pushed down below the water line, so they don’t mold. I found that those little glass Fire King custard cups are perfect weights for this purpose if the veggies won’t stay down on their own. The lids stay open as it ferments for three or four days at room temperature. I covered the jars with a kitchen towel to keep the dust out.

The kimchi is delicious, fresh-tasting and spicy! The fish sauce has a funky smell which some find pretty nasty, but it bothers me no more than the stinky-foot smell of tasty cheese. The only changes I would make: more ginger, and a little more sugar to round out the flavor more, the amount I used was too little for so much brine.

Awesome cardigan day at afterglow vintage

Bird watcher’s cardigan at afterglow vintage

Hello!

So today I’ll be listing some fabulous cardigans, perfect for beach season!

After a long day in and out of the cold waves, sunkissed, with the early evening breeze turning into a chilly wind, nothing’s better than snuggling into a cozy cardigan as you light up the fire and gather ’round to picnic and share stories….

 

Berry striped gardener’s cardigan at afterglow vintage

 

Rodeo cowboy cardigan at afterglow vintage
Slouchy color block English cardigan at afterglow vintage

Swig a Pig!

Blind Pig Brewing Company Pub Glass

I just bought this pub glass the other day at Urban Ore, and while I recognized the name ‘Blind Pig’ as an IPA that Russian River Brewing Company makes, I wondered why it said it’s from Temecula. I showed the glass to my sister’s boyfriend, who is a beer geek in the best sense  of the term (not like this), and he told me that yes, it is the same Blind Pig, but it moved to Russian River.

So as I was drinking my coffee out of the glass just now, I was curious and looked into the story, and found that the brewery this glass came from closed in 1997 when one of the co-owners, Vinnie Cilurzo, left to become a brewmaster for Russian River Brewing Company. He’s famous for making some of the most innovative and delicious beers to be had.

So anyone, just a fun tidbit of beer history with my late morning coffee.

New Pinterest Board: Vintage for the Voluptuous!

Vintage Black Lace Dress, made in Belgium,
afterglow vintage, Etsy

I’ve created a new Pinterest Board: vintage clothing for curvy, plus size women, featuring pieces featured in my own Etsy shop as well as other online vintage clothing shops.
Curvy women are generally under-served, I believe, by the American fashion community; this is my own small contribution to balancing that out

Vintage Floral Skirt, Baxter Vintage, Etsy
Bold Red, Black, and White Vintage Blouse, Size is Just a Number, Etsy

 

Navy Sky and White Moon Dress,  Thread Over Heels, Etsy

Pickled Beets

Homemade Beet Pickles

So I promised you about a week and a half ago that I would get back to you on that batch of fresh dill pickles, to tell you how they turned out.

Well, right about the time they were ready four days later, I came down with a nasty chest cold, and ever since then, my sense of taste has been nearly entirely gone. They turned out pretty tasty, my husband said, save for one thing: I hadn’t thoroughly dissolved the salt in the water, it turns out, so the top pickles were not very salty, and the bottom ones were too salty. I took the too-salty ones and put them in a jar with plain water, and the next day, they were just right. So, lesson learned: that salt don’t mix itself.

Anyway, as I also mentioned last time, the leftover brine from a jar of pickles can be used again, and this time, I took that brine (after mixing it well!) and filled it with lightly cooked beets, sliced onions, and black peppercorns. I refrigerated them for four days.

So here they are, and they turned out pretty tasty, so far as my stuffy self can tell, and my husband likes them. They’re just the right saltiness and tenderness, and what a pretty color too!

He does suggest that I don’t use dill for the next batch of beet pickles, because he thinks that the dill taste predominates too much over the beet taste. I’ll have to take his word for it for now!

 

Stunningly beautiful flower and fruit bough vintage / antique cotton print

Vintage cotton flower and fruit print fabric at AC Fabric Shop

This is my new favorite fabric in my vintage fabric shop right now!

Stunningly beautiful flower and fruit bough print in sage green, coral, teal, peach, and brown on a peachy shade of cream. 

I can’t tell its exact vintage, but I think it’s quite old, I would guess from the 1930’s or earlier. It looks like many antique cottons I’ve found too, pre-dating the turn of the century

By feel, look, and burn test, it appears to be all cotton, heavier than calico and a little lighter than most twills, though it has a crosswise twill-like weave

 35″ wide, 5 1/3 yards available

Fantastic 1963 Vogar Fabrics print, featuring dancers and drummer with scarves and feathered hats

afterglow vintage collection
Fantastic 1963 Vogar Fabrics dancers and drummers print

My new favorite fabric in my collection right now!

44″ tall / wide
2 yards 11″ long

Fantastic 1960’s dancer and drummer border print fabric in green, brown, yellow, orange, and black on white
The selvage reads: ‘Vogar Fabrics Div. of Carolina Cottons Inc. c. 1963

There are a few areas on the fabric with light discolorations from age, that washing did not removed, but are so pale they didn’t show up in pics. I don’t think it really detracts from this wonderful bold print

Oodles of new pieces coming soon to afterglow vintage

Gunne Sax by Jessica McClintock Toile and Lace
Wedding Dress at afterglow vintage

Gunne Sax by Jessica McClintock toile and lace wedding dress, midcentury red plaid fuzzy blanket, 1980’s Gitano striped sweater with peekaboo sleeves, bright striped rugby shirt, paint splatter beach shorts, Hawaiian trapeze print dress, beautiful vintage fabrics, and so much more…
just photographed today and arriving soon to afterglow vintage and AC’s vintage fabric shop!

Midcentury Woolly Blanket at afterglow vintage
1980’s Gitano at afterglow vintage

Vintage Bright Striped Rugby Shirt at afterglow vintage

1980’s Board Shorts at afterglow vintage

1960’s Hawaiian Print Dress at afterglow vintage

Vintage Peacock Print Fabric at AC Fabric Shop

Vintage Paris France Fabric at AC Fabric Shop

Vintage 1930’s Theme Floral Print Fabric at AC Fabric Shop

Too Much To Do, and Pickles

AC Clothing and Bags / afterglow vintage studio

The last few days have been super hectic, with family in town and great vintage fabric and clothing hunting. So the sewing and the laundry is piling up, but that will have to wait for my next in-studio work day, stay tuned for lots of new goodies in my Etsy stores...

In the meantime, I’m making a new batch of pickles! They’re so easy, I’m surprised I’ve never done it before. But I always thought it required lots of steps and boiling jars in a hot kitchen, like canning, so the thought of all that made me too lazy to learn.

But then my sister and my friend both mentioned that they’d done it before in a much more simple manner, and when I researched a bit, I found it was the same sort of process that results in a light, crispy pickle, like half-sour kosher pickles, which are my favorites. So I’ve been on a roll lately

This batch is cucumbers with fresh dill and garlic. Everything that can be made with garlic, in my kitchen, is made with garlic, and if it does have garlic, it has a lot.

I think it’s a two liter jar, which I half fill with water and nearly 1/4 cup salt. Then lots of fresh dill, lots and lots of garlic, and the cucumbers. Make sure the cucumbers are pushed down so everything is fully submerged in the water, otherwise, mold grows on whatever sticks out.

Then, I leave the lid partly open, and cover the top loosely with a kitchen towel to keep the dust out, and I let it sit on my counter for a few days. The last few times, I left the jar out three days; this time, I’m trying four. I’ll let you know how it goes.

After it’s fermented for three (or four?) days, I refrigerate them for at least a full day, just so they’re nice and cold, and they’re ready to eat!

By the way, I found that you can re-use the brine from the last batch to make a new batch of light pickles. I had made a batch of pickled cucumber and green beans with dry dill, garlic, and lots of red pepper flakes, and when they were eaten, I cut carrots into long thin sticks and left them in the brine, in the fridge, for 3-5 days (we ate them over that period of time). They were crisp and delicious!